Shloka 236
Mahāvasu’s Fall by Speech-Error and Release through Devotion (अज-विवादः वसोः शापः विमोचनं च)
उपाध्यायं महाराज धर्ममेवानुचिन्तयन् । महाराज! वेद-वेदांगोंकी विस्तृत व्याख्याके ज्ञाता शुकदेवजीने धर्मका विचार करके बृहस्पतिको अपना गुरु बनाया
upādhyāyaṃ mahārāja dharmam evānucintayan | mahārāja! veda-vedāṅgāṃkī vistṛta-vyākhyāke jñātā śukadevājīne dharmakā vicār karke bṛhaspatiko apanā guru banāyā
Wahai Maharaja, dengan hanya merenungkan dharma, ia memilih seorang guru. Śukadeva—yang termasyhur karena pemahaman dan uraian luas atas Weda beserta Weda-anga—setelah menimbang kebenaran, menerima Bṛhaspati sebagai guru rohaninya.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
One should choose and approach a guru after careful reflection on dharma; true authority in teaching is grounded in ethical discernment and deep scriptural understanding.
Bhīṣma, instructing the king, cites Śukadeva as an exemplar: despite his learning in the Vedas and Vedāṅgas, he deliberates on dharma and accepts Bṛhaspati as his preceptor.